Tis the season to not have to watch your kids?

[tollbaby]

My children are allowed to do two things unsupervised: Go down to the car in in the mornings (my nine year old clears the snow off the car while his sister sits inside it - alone 5 minutes max, and I can hear them from inside the apartment, even with the windows closed) and go to the bathroom at the grocery store - where my ex-husband stands at the endcap and watches until they come back. Even in small stores, they're not even allowed to be in a different aisle from me. And while my ex allows them to go to the park alone, he walks by every so often to check on them. They're not allowed at the park alone in my neighborhood (mine's nowhere near as family-oriented as the ex's).

At the mall I used to work at, unattended children were turned over to Guest services who would page the parents twice. If they hadn't showed up 10 minutes after the second page, the police and Children's Aid were phoned to pick up the child. Even if the parents showed up in the meantime, Children's Aid invariably took the kids into custody. They don't mess around with that stuff in my city.

I will occasionally allow my children to remain in the car while I run in to the store if I know for a fact that I'll be gone for less than 5 minutes, but the car is turned off and locked (the alarm will go off if they try to open the car doors, which they know only to do in an emergency). If it turns out that I'll be longer than 5 minutes, I go back out and make them come in with me.

[Cat]

I like "Unsupervised children will be given espresso and a free puppy"

[Nyoibo]

One of my favorite shops near me is a leather goods place, the signs there are along the lines of.

"Misbehaving children will be tied to a tree and have angry koalas thrown at them"

"Unsupervised children will be sold into slavery"

[Pagan]

And when the parents came back, apparently they had left them alone for 2 weeks the year before!

That is way out of line for even "only" 75 years ago!

Depends on when and where.

Had my paternal grandfather done now what he had to do in the late 30s/early 40s, he would have been arrested and my dad and uncle put into foster care.

See, they lived out in the middle of BFE Arizona (around Sierra Vista way before there was a Sierra Vista) and sometimes had to go to other towns for his job. He had to leave my dad and uncle by themselves for a few days at time. He couldn't take them with him and all the relatives they had were back in Michigan.

I was a latchkey kid, myself, but I'm almost twice your age, and that was pretty common in the 60's and 70's.

And the mid-80s.

[otakuneko]

I was one of those kids being dropped off at places like Funcoland, Target, the library, later Barnes & Noble... guess my dad was lucky. Then again, this was the late 80's/early 90's.

I loved hanging out at Funcoland. It was the 16-bit console era, but the old NES was still holding on, and the Funcoland stores had between 4 and 7 demo units up and running all the time, and you could ask to try different games...

Incredible Universe was awesome, a joint venture between Radio Shack and Circuit City (IIRC), they had everything. Computers, consoles, appliances, music... course all I cared about were the first two, but still. kinda like a precursor to Fry's Electronics, only more fun. They had a VR demo for a while (free!), and a stage for small shows. (heck, the Fry's near me took over the old Incredible Universe location)

[Primer]

I used to walk a mile and half to school and back, on my own, and this was when I was 8 years old or so. I'd also somewhat often stop by the grocery store on the way to or from school, depending on how generous the lunch money fund was that day.

I was a latchkey kid, myself, but I'm almost twice your age, and that was pretty common in the 60's and 70's.

My professor was talking about child neglect in my sociology of the family class last semester, and told us about a news story from a few years ago.

These parents left their 8 and 5 year-old at home for 2 weeks while they went on vacation.

The only reason they got caught was because one of their lightbulbs had burnt out, and one of the kids went to a neighbors house to ask for help.

And when the parents came back, apparently they had left them alone for 2 weeks the year before!

That is way out of line for even "only" 75 years ago!

[malmalthekiller]

My professor was talking about child neglect in my sociology of the family class last semester, and told us about a news story from a few years ago.

These parents left their 8 and 5 year-old at home for 2 weeks while they went on vacation.

The only reason they got caught was because one of their lightbulbs had burnt out, and one of the kids went to a neighbors house to ask for help.

And when the parents came back, apparently they had left them alone for 2 weeks the year before!

[Hyndis]

Around here, I'm perennially surprised to see that children who are just old enough to be starting school, are allowed to walk themselves to and from it. Often, they'll go to a shop on the way.

Bear in mind, though, that school starts at age 7 here, and Finns are *very* good at raising children properly.

I used to walk a mile and half to school and back, on my own, and this was when I was 8 years old or so. I'd also somewhat often stop by the grocery store on the way to or from school, depending on how generous the lunch money fund was that day.

[Mike Taylor]

Maybe the parents need a scare, and sure I'd feel bad if a kid who wandered into my store was abducted, but not every case requires police intervention.

With a big corporation like the one I currently work for, we prefer to err on the side of keeping the kid safe. Unattended children are also more likely to get into mischief... and attempt theft.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I used to always hang around the library as a kid; then again, I lived in a village and the librarian knew my parents well so it didn't matter.

[draftermatt]

From the age of about 10 on I was allowed to walk from my house to the library (1 mile there, 1 mile back) and I was allowed to walk the mall by myself, or with my sister (who is younger) and we knew to meet Mom or Dad at x time at x door.

They never dropped me off, and I was never abandoned.

Now if I worked at a store and I saw the parents drop a kid off I would call store or mall security and let them handle it.

But if a kid just wandered in, he may not be "abandoned" he could just be mature for his age, and his parents trust him (not using he to be sexist, just easier to type).

In that case I'd ask the kid if his parents knew where he was, and then gauge the situation.

Granted, I think things are different from when I was a kid (especially in the town where I grew up) and I probably won't let my kids (or kids in my care) have the freedom to roam the way I did, but not every kid that's alone in a store has been abandoned.

Maybe the parents need a scare, and sure I'd feel bad if a kid who wandered into my store was abducted, but not every case requires police intervention.

I admire you folks who do this everyday, I know I couldn't do it.

[Mike Taylor]

I remember that store. They had some cool stuff and I was pretty bummed when they went under.

Not to side track the conversation, but that's what happens when your corporate heads consistently make stupid business decisions. There were a lot of us who were let go when FAO/Zany Brainy/Right Start went under.

[Mike Taylor]

I used to work for a toy store called Zany Brainy.

So you were a victim of Jerry Welch, too, eh?

I worked for ZB's former sister chain, FAO Schwarz at the old Chicago store.

We used to be a "drop off point" for parents, too. Many is the time when DCFS (Department of Child and Family Services) and Chicago PD had to be called. Our store did not screw around with that sort of thing. Pissed off parents would suddenly become very meek in front of a large, angry policeman.

And courtesy of Jennie Breeden, we have this...

[Lace Neil Singer]

The sign I put in the pet centre was "This is not a creche. Please don't leave children in the pet store." The sign I WANTED to put up, but was vetoed by management, was "If you're going to treat me as a babysitter, then you have to pay the going rate."

[taxguykarl]

I have been asked several times to watch kids while Mommy and/or Daddy sped home for that missing document. I can't count how many times I refused to babysit. This is a tax office, we have a television (broadcast not cable) that it. Moreover, we do not have the training or insurance for this. Yes, I have had to tell that to some SC's.